Float
by instrument trio
Summary: We’ll all have troubles, pains, and sorrows…so when a day like this comes along, I think we should spend it doing…fun things…with the people we care about


A/N: What was supposed to be a chapter of JWMYS (the chapter after next(27)) turned into a plain one shot. It has nothing to do with what _would_ and probably _will be_ in that chapter, so there are no spoilers. I would laugh if i wasn't irked at the fact that another fanfic decided to grow a mind of it's own and turn itself into something entirely different from what I planned. That's actually how I got that idea for the Sasukexoc fic. Believe me, I hate writing Sasukexoc. Anyways, this _may_ have been inspired by all those idiotic back to school ads which are _everywhere_. God. Maybe I should start on that summer reading...

**Disclaimer: **Instrument Trio does not own Naruto but does own some characters and elements of the plot.

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**_::Float::_**

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It was peaceful, you know? Just being here. The river's current wasn't really that strong, and it was really peaceful here in this clearing. There wasn't the hustle, bustle, and loudness of town, including the tea district, which had to be my favorite district in Konoha. I loved the fact that I could hear the birds chirping, the gentle rustle of the breeze through the trees, and the trickle of the water over rocks. If I wanted, I could open my eyes and watch the clouds like Shikamaru, but I much prefer just floating here with my eyes closed and the sun on my face.

I could forget about all the stresses, messes, and problems that have been bugging me. I didn't have to worry about my clan training with Tai and Ren and what would happen if I didn't complete it in time. Any team issues were long gone out of my mind, and I didn't have to think about Sosuke or worry about the safety of the nakama I left behind and split apart from. I didn't have to _think_. That was the purpose of Shikamaru's constant cloud staring, and I knew that. The rate at which his brain went through thinking in daily life was a stress, and would be without him being a ninja. And anyways, as Tou-san always said, every ninja needs a coping device. I enjoyed borrowing his coping device, because I didn't really have time to use my own. I should start making my own time…but for now…

"Ashi!"

I lazily opened one eye as I heard careful footsteps make their way to the river bank.

"Ashi, w-what are you doing?"

"Mou, Hinata-hime, why are you here?" I drawled lazily, raising my hand to block out the sunlight shining directly into my eyes and ignoring the drops of water falling onto my face.

"I was…ano…looking for you" Hinata replied quietly. I already know she was fidgeting with her fingers. One day we should break her out of that habit…

"Ano…Ashi, w-what are you doing?"

"Floating" I replied simply.

"B-but…with your clothes on?"

"Rather all my clothes be on, than for someone to find me skinny dipping" I replied with a yawn as my eyes closed again, "I imagine you would have fainted if you had found me skinny dipping"

"C-couldn't y-y-you have taken o-off your ja-ja-jacket or something?"

I had definitely embarrassed her. Her voice had almost jumped an octave.

"Aa. I suppose"

"Ashi…is something wrong?"

"I wouldn't think so. Do you think something's wrong?"

"W-well, you're being so…."

"Laid back? Lazy? Out of it?"

"A-are you still feeling a-aftereffects of chakra deprivation? You should go to the hospital th-then"

I didn't respond for a few seconds, and just as I could _feel_ Hinata getting antsy I spoke.

"Do…you ever feel like…you want the world to just…stop?"

"W-what?"

"Meh, I've always understood why Shikamaru loves staring at the sky so much, but I'm always doing too much to join him for long. It really is nice…just floating here"

"U-um…"

"I get the feeling" I interrupted as I started backstroking back to shore, "that life isn't going to be as peaceful and easy going as it has been. And I…I dunno, just want everything to stop so I can just soak everything in while I still have it"

"Ashi…"

"It's tiring being so happy, did you know that Hina-hime?" I asked, standing up and wringing my hair out, "I get tired. I mean, it's not all acting, but sometimes I just want to stand up and scream. I may not have the hardest life, but life gets to me too"

"I-I guess I…know h-h-how that feels" Hinata replied, sitting down on the ground, "but..it…goes on, l-life I mean"

"Hai" I replied, stretching, "It goes on, and I guess I just want to enjoy this laziness, this…calm, this carefree feeling while its here"

I blinked as I watched Hinata stand up, and watched in confusion as she started to leave.

"Um…Hina-chan? You're leaving?"

"A-ano…iie. I'll be right back. Y-you don't mind me…sh-sharing your laziness, do you?"

I just smiled in response, and Hinata smiled back before turning and disappearing down a path. I glanced in the trees at Shinzo, who was dozing off on a branch before walking underneath the tree. Shinzo sluggishly woke up before hopping off the tree and landing in my arms. I smiled again, stroking the feathers on his head once, before leaning back and staring up through the leaves.

* * *

As Hinata walked back through the clearing she paused, hearing an unusual sound floating through the trees. The only word to describe it was…reedy. She silently approached, eyes widening slightly as she found her teammate playing an odd instrument. It was long and black with silver parts…keys most likely, trailing along the front. Ashi had her eyes closed as her fingers nimbly jumped over the keys. She seemed impervious to everything going on, including the breeze blowing her wavy hair into her face and Shinzo, who was sitting in her lap and sleeping despite the music of her instrument. Hinata couldn't help the smile slipping over her face as she sat down to listen. A few minutes after Hinata found her spot, a squeak rang through the clearing, causing her jump, and making Ashi grumble a few choice words under her breath as she moved the instrument away from her mouth.

"Can never get that note…"

* * *

"Th-that was very good"

I jumped slightly, cocking my head as I noticed Hinata sitting under a nearby tree, smiling. I smiled slightly as well.

"Ah, thanks. I'm really not that good yet though"

"W-what is it?"

"This?" I asked, looking down at my instrument, "Well…it's my coping device"

"W-what?"

"Well…every ninja needs one" I replied, "It helps them get on with their life. Shikamaru, you've met him before, his is cloud watching and shogi. His sensei's is his smoking and shogi. Kakashi-sensei…I think his is that book Kurenai-sensei hates. One of my friends, hers was, is, drawing, and my other friend, she loves writing"

"O-oh…I see. I was wondering w-what the instrument was though"

"Oh" I replied with a laugh, "Clarinet. I know it's not exactly a traditional instrument but…I like it"

Hinata smiled and nodded, "I like it too. So I s-suppose my coping device is making o-ointments?"

I shrugged, disassembling my instrument before re-sealing it. It was the only thing I ever could figure out how to seal and reseal that wasn't a weapon. I don't seal things much anyways though. That's more…his thing…

"I thought you said you liked to cook"

"O-oh that too"

"Neh, Hina-chan, what did you leave for?"

"I…ano…brought my swimming suit"

I paused, surprised before a smile broke out on my face.

"Aa. Lets go swimming then"

I pulled off my dark red sweatshirt and unzipped my bottoms off my pant legs so that I was only in my black tanktop and dark grey shorts, while Hinata pulled off the dress she was wearing. I glanced at her white swimming suit with a smile before pulling my hair out of its pony tail and wading into the water. Hinata followed after testing the water with her foot while I floated on my back. It was peaceful for a few minutes, the sound of us treading water breaking the silence every once in a while. Just when we really started to enjoy the peace, a shout broke the silence.

"Hey! Hinata? Ashi? Were are you!?"

"Kiba" I grumbled, allowing myself to sink into the water with a faint growl. Hinata sighed with a faint laugh as the object of my annoyance crashed into the clearing with Akamaru on his heels and Shino a few paces behind.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying life until a few minutes ago" I mumbled under my breath as Hinata giggled quietly.

"That's mean Ashi"

"Tch. Troublesome" I replied, closing my eyes again as I resumed my floating. There was a faint splash and a bark as Akamaru joined us in the river, yipping happily. I could handle that. What was irking me was his master.

"Great idea Akamaru!"

"Kiba, are you always this loud?" I asked in aggravation.

"Yes"

The corner of my mouth twitched a little at Shino's answer as Kiba peppered the air with his complaints. I sighed, rolling my eyes as Hinata laughed again. Akamaru had decided to use her as a float and climbed onto her stomach as she floated on her back like I had been doing. I ignored the sounds of Kiba pulling off his shirt and shoes as I went back to thinking about nothing, but was broken out of my thoughts almost instantly.

"WAHOOO!!!"

I yelped as I was smacked by a wave created by the aftershock of Kiba's cannon ball, and immediately found myself submerging. I came back up, gasping and glaring as I pushed my hair out of my face, treading water to keep me upright.

"Fate hates me"

"Maybe…it just wants you to…be carefree w-with your friends" Hinata replied, looking somewhat shocked at my grumblings about fate. Huh.

"HAHA! The water's GREAT!!!" Kiba shouted as he swam around. Akamaru jumped off Hinata and started following Kiba as he swam around in circles and I looked up to the sky in aggravation before swimming over to Kiba and dunking him in the water.

"Just shut up idiot"

I swam away, not caring that Kiba was still under the water, until I felt a jerk on my leg and found myself underwater as well. I resurfaced with a sigh as Kiba laughed his head off before turning to Hinata. She shrugged, still smiling as I flinched. Kiba had started splashing water like a two year old.

"That's it. You're going down" I grumbled, diving into the water and dragging Kiba under. What ensued could only be called an epic dunking war that ended once we both realized what we really needed was _air_.

"Oi Shino, why don't you join us?!" Kiba asked as he treaded water on his back, "The water's great!"

"No thank you"

"Aw c'mon" Kiba whined. As if whining was going to get Shino into the river.

"Shino, I think…we all need a break once in a while" I commented out loud, feeling his gaze land on me as I went back to floating on my back, "You know, a day just to be carefree"

"To be lazy" Hinata added in as she floated past me.

"To enjoy what we have while we have it" I continued as I smiled up at the sky, "Because…things aren't always going to be this nice…or this great. There'll be tons of missions in our future. Things we won't like doing, things we'd rather not do. We'll have troubles, pains, sorrows, and all of that…so when a day like this comes along, I think we should spend it doing…fun things…with the people we care about"

"Wow…that was deep" Kiba commented as I sighed.

"We all need memories Keebs" I replied quietly in response. It was silent afterwards, and I just sighed watching the clouds float by while Kiba resumed playing with Akamaru, this time with Hinata joining in. We all paused as we heard a shirt hit the ground, and stared in awe as Shino walked up to the water's edge wearing only his shorts and sunglasses before getting in the water. Granted, they were amazed because Shino was getting in the water. _I _was amazed because, dang, the boy had abs.

_Watch out, you might start drooling_

_It was a good day until you opened your mouth Ren_

_**Usually is**_

_Shut up Tai_

"Alright Ashi!" Kiba cheered, swimming up to me and giving me a high five as I grinned.

"Glad you could join us" I said to Shino as I swam past him.

Hinata merely smiled as she went back to playing with Akamaru. It was calm again until Kiba decided it would be a great idea to dunk Shino. Shino's glare as he resurfaced was chilling, even with his sunglasses on, and epic dunking/splash war number two began, this time with teams. We tied, though at the beginning it seemed like Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata would win. After both teams agreed to a truce we returned to our carefree floating and swimming.

* * *

I laughed as Kiba gave Hinata a piggyback ride, and we worked together, positioning our hands to make her a 'throne.' We carried her around for about a minute before a smirk appeared on Kiba's face, and he tossed her into the river. I swam away, hiding behind Shino as Hinata pulled Kiba under, only to find herself being lifted out of the water and tossed when Kiba appeared below her. Sometime during our fun, Kurenai-sensei had appeared, and was now watching us with an amused look on her face as she looked up from the book she was reading. We couldn't convince her to join us in the water, but that was okay.

I yelped as Shino and Kiba teamed up to toss me in the river, and resurfaced with a mock glare on my face as I spat out water.

"That's not fair! Hinata and I can't do that"

"Sucks for you" Kiba laughed, as he stood virtually safe on the river bank, right next to a patch of particularly deep water. I glanced at Hinata, who had been thrown in before me, and grinned conspiratorially at her. She swam over as I whispered my plan into her ear, smiling with a faint blush as she agreed with it. We casually swam out of the pool and walked toward our two teammates. Kiba watched us nervously as Shino just stood and waited for our retaliation.

"Kiba-kun…" Hinata said shyly as she _sauntered_, yes, _sauntered_ up to Kiba with one of her shy smiles on her face. I had paused, watching in curiosity because honestly, the flirting wasn't part of the plan.

"Y-yes, Hinata?" Kiba replied, with a swallow, as our shy teammate approached him.

"We-ell…I was…_wondering_…" Hinata continued, as she approached him, stopping when she was just less than a foot away from him, and smiling disarmingly up at him. I watched with an amused smirk on my face as Kiba slowly backed away. A blush was slowly forming on his face as Hinata leaned toward him.

"…w-wondering…" Kiba replied, backing up a bit more. Just a few more steps back or a push was all that was needed to send Kiba into the river, and judging by the look in Hinata's eyes, she knew it too.

"Wondering…" she continued, blinking innocently, "If you knew how close to the water you are?"

"Huh?" Kiba asked, turning around. The one small step he took as he turned to look was all that was needed to make him lose his balance. He flailed for a few seconds before completely falling into the river, and I laughed as Hinata giggled. Shino let a smirk appear on his face as Kiba resurfaced, spluttering.

"Wow Hinata" I commented as we all approached the river bank to watch Kiba treading the water, "You are definitely the master. I didn't know you had it in you"

Hinata blushed as she smiled in embarrassment, and ducked her head as she began playing with her fingers. I shrugged and continued laughing, before glancing at Shino to my right.

"Hey Shino, think quick" I said suddenly as I jumped onto his back, piggyback style. He stumbled at the sudden weight on his back and fell into the water with me on his back. I resurfaced quickly, swimming away as a bright grin appeared on my face.

"Whoo! Kamikaze dunking! That was awesome" I cheered as Hinata laughed. I grinned at Shino as he resurfaced, ignoring the annoyed look on his face. I, however, started getting nervous as a smirk appeared on his face, and started inching backwards as he approached.

"So…was Hinata a distraction?"

"Um…no. Wh-what are you doing?" I asked nervously. The smirk just deepened, and suddenly I feared for my survival.

"Ack! I'm sorry Shino! Truce! Truce!" I yelped, as he suddenly picked me up. I immediately flung my arms around his neck, hoping that it would stop him from flinging me back into the water. But, no. I yelped as I plunged into the water, resurfacing and spluttering, not unlike Kiba had done not long ago. Well, at least Shino hadn't been flirting with me. _That_ would've been just…..yeah….

"No more. Truce I say!" I called as Hinata helped pull me from the pool. I turned around and stuck my hand out for Shino, as Hinata did the same for Kiba. As soon as they were out of the pool (no one pulled the other in), I flopped on the ground and proceeded to stare at the clouds.

"Just like Asuma's student" I heard Kurenai-sensei laugh, and I chuckled myself as Kiba flopped down next to me, panting. I yelped as Akamaru shook his fur out before resting on Kiba's stomach, and Kiba just laughed at me.

"Man, that was fun"

"Aa" I replied noncommittally as Hinata plopped down next to Kiba and Shino sat down next to me. Kurenai-sensei joined us, sitting next to Hinata as we watched the sky turn beautiful shades of pink, peach, orange, and red, and when the sun finally set she stood up with a stretch and a sigh.

"My, that was beautiful. Now how about we go to my apartment and I'll cook you guys some dinner"

"Really?" Kiba asked. He sounded pretty excited, "Can you make teriyaki chicken?"

"I suppose" Kurenai-sensei mused, taping her finger to her cheek as she thought, "and what would the rest of you like?"

"Um…yakisoba?" I asked after a moments thought. Kurenai-sensei nodded with a smile.

"I can manage that"

"A-anything is fine" Hinata replied with a smile.

"No tofu" Shino stated simply, causing me and Kurenai-sensei to crack into a smile.

"Right, no tofu" Kurenai-sensei repeated with a nod.

"Alright! Lets go!" Kiba cheered, jumping as Kurenai-sensei laughed.

"Yes, but my apartment's in the other direction"

We all laughed as Kiba sheepishly turned around and started walking in the direction Kurenai-sensei pointed.

* * *

I heard the door close quietly, and turned to see Shino walking onto the balcony. I smiled at him before turning back to the sky where I was watching the stars and gazing at the moon. Behind us in Kurenai-sensei's apartment, Kurenai-sensei, Kiba, and Hinata were laughing as they played a card game. Akamaru was asleep on Kurenai-sensei's couch.

"Hey" I said quietly as Shino leaned against the railing like I was doing. He nodded in response as he turned his gaze onto the sky.

"I like nights like this, you know" I said suddenly, breaking the silence, "The moon's not exactly full, but there's still enough moonlight to see around. And…I guess, I kind of like watching the clouds float past the moon. It's sort of…mysterious"

"Mm" Shino hummed in response, not taking his eyes off the sky.

"Did you have…fun…today?" I asked quietly as I turned to look at Shino. He turned to me, and I could see the muscle twitch in his cheek that usually meant that he was amused/smiling.

"I suppose"

"You suppose?" I replied, smiling as I shook my head, "That's so noncommittal"

"You were too today" Shino observed simply, and I shrugged.

"I suppose" I replied, grinning as I used his phrase.

"Why?"

"I…don't know. I guess I just didn't feel up to anything today. I just felt lazy, carefree…peaceful"

Shino nodded, urging me to continue, so I did.

"When I woke up this morning…I was hit with a thought. I don't know why, it just occurred to me how good I had it right now, and at any moment, I or any one of you could be injured, or something bad could happen" I said softly as I turned my head to look at the view from the balcony, "I…dunno…panicked? I needed to get out of the house and just…stop. Stop thinking, stop worrying, stop panicking…just…stop"

Shino was silent as he listened, and I sighed before continuing.

"Well, I eventually found that clearing. I was looking at the water and I just felt like…I needed to go swimming…like, the water was calling me or something. So I just jumped in. It was peaceful, and I didn't have to think. I could just float and all my cares just left me"

"We all need a break sometimes" Shino commented with a slight nod, and I smiled.

"Yeah"

Shino silently placed his hand on my head and messed up my hair a bit before turning back to the sky. I rolled my eyes as I flattened my hair back down and bumped him lightly with my hip.

"Now that was unnecessary" I said simply.

"Hn" Shino said with a glance in my direction and a raised eyebrow. I merely stuck my tongue out at him before turning back to the sky myself. After a bit, I straightened out and stretched with a yawn before rubbing my arms.

"Yeah, I'm going to go raid Kure-sensei's pantry. I think I'm in the mood for hot chocolate"

"Tea sounds nice"

I chuckled as Shino held the balcony door open for me to walk through.

"Tea he says, like an old granny"

"Hey!" I complained as Shino messed up my hair again, and I stuck out my tongue at him as he walked past.

"Unnecessary!" I reminded as I followed him into the kitchen. As an afterthought, I stuck my head back out into the living room, "Hey, who wants hot chocolate?"

"Me!"

"I-I'll have some"

"Sure, hot chocolate sounds fine"

I returned later, somehow managing to carry three mugs of hot chocolate, while Shino carried the last one and some tea. We sat down, joining Kiba and Hinata as they listened to Kurenai-sensei's tale of her old team and a mission where the boys had to cross dress in a pageant. Outside, a few shooting stars fell from the sky, and disappeared behind the Hokage monument to the background music of cicadas.

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Hahah! Two chapters and a one shot! I'm so proud of myself! Sadly, this all occurs while I should be doing actual work. It's not my fault I doze off so eazily....it may be laziness, or it may be from things beyond my control (excuses). Anyways, feel free to review!! I always enjoy them; I love finding random pieces of inspiration. I hope you enjoyed reading!


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